I guess we are lucky parents that our HGC child is very social and outgoing. Going to a new school without his friends is not a big issue for him because he is not a shy child and makes friends easily.

However, I think regardless of whether kids go back to their home MS or the magnet MS after HGC, there is some intrinsic value in the HGC experience.

The two years that they spend with like-minded peers, the encouragement that they get to explore and research topics, the presentation skills they acquire and the time management skills they learn are wonderful in itself.

For our child, the toughest part of being in HGC was the process to apply to the magnet MS and waiting for the results. Mainly because they have developed very strong friendships with their classmates and majority of people were applying. Obviously, many people got in and many did not - so the mood in the classroom was very mixed and subdued. His biggest fear was that his friends will move on to MS magnet and he will be left behind. So, there was a sense of relief when he got in along with shock and dismay when many other brilliant kids did not get in.

Anonymous wrote:My DC hates that it has too much writing. DC is starting to hate school So, if your DC hates writing with a passion like my DC does, I would give it serious thought. I did have this concern when thinking about whether to apply. I hear in 5th grade there's less writing.

At our Whitman cluster home ES there is a lot of writing in 5th grade. It may be that your DC was going to have to do a lot of writing either way.